Update 1930
Traffic Accidents
A car crashed into a barrier at the Marsa-Ħamrun bypass on Saturday night in an incident that caused heavy traffic in the area. The crash happened at around 6 pm, according to witnesses, and police said that some people were taken to hospital. (Times)
A woman was taken to hospital this afternoon after she was hit by a car in Victoria, the police said. The woman, aged 68 of Qala, was hit by a car driven by a 51-year-old man of Santa Venera. She was taken to Gozo Hospital with grievous injuries. The accident happened in Fortunato Mizzi Street at 12pm. (Independent)
Other incidents
An eight-year-old boy is in critical condition after he fell from a balcony in St Paul’s Bay on Saturday morning The incident was reported at 9.45am on Saturday on Triq Il-Villeġġjatura. The boy fell from a height of about three storeys, the police said in a statement, landing on a parked car. (Newsbook)
A 38-year-old Turkish national is in danger of dying following on an incident on a ship early on Saturday morning. The ship had just sailed out of the Freeport when the police was called to assist. The police said the man got tangled in a rope whilst working on the vessel. (Newsbook)
Updated 1700
MPO CEO Sigmund Mifsud charged with suborning witness
The CEO of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra has been charged with suborning witnesses from giving information in an alleged criminal act, and of tampering with evidence. Sigmund Mifsud, 49, was remanded in custody, after being charged with having carried out moral or psychological violence by suborning others, chiefly the victim of sexual harassment, from testifying on the crime.Mifsud has been suspended on half-pay, with immediate effect. Pjazza Teatru Rjal CEO, Maestro Chris Muscat, has been appointed as acting-CEO of the MPO. (MaltaToday) PN spokesperson Julie Zahra said in a statement that Owen Bonnici’s position as minister responsible for the arts is no longer tenable after the sexual harassment scandal within the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) happened under his watch. “Owen Bonnici must assume political responsibility and resign”, said Zahra.
Updated 1200
Police Commissioner hints at former PM Muscat being investigated
Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà has indirectly confirmed that former prime minister Joseph Muscat is being criminally investigated. The Times of Malta reports that when qQuestioned about the search on Muscat’s home in January, Gafà said he does not want to speak about specific cases, “especially if they are at the investigation or prosecution stage”. The investigations show Muscat is a suspect in a wider probe into potential corruption in the Vitals Global Healthcare hospitals deal. Reports had shown that the former PM received €60,000 in suspicious “consultancy” payments from a Swiss firm that in turn both paid out and received money from key players in the Vitals deal. (Times of Malta)
No state funeral for Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici
Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, prime minister of Malta from 1984 to 1987, has passed away. He was 89. In a statement, the government said that Prime Minister Robert Abela informed the family that it was ready to organise a State funeral. The family appreciated the gesture but informed the OPM that Mifsud Bonnici had signed a declaration, before his death, that he did not want wish to have a State Funeral. Full story here.
Enemalta commences interconnector repair
Enemalta and Nexans company said that they had commenced repairs on the interconnector which links Malta with Italy. The interconnector was damaged by a vessel’s anchor earlier this year, and the process is expected to be completed by the end of this month. The interconnector, cable which supplies roughly one-fifth of electricity in Malta, was damaged by the Chem P tanker’s anchor near Qalet Marku. (TVM)
Morning Briefing
Former PM Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici Dies
Former Maltese Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici has died during the night between Friday and Saturday. He was 89 years old.
PN wants backdated refunds on energy bills
The Opposition has filed a parliamentary motion to amend two legal notices published last month that will see consumers receive revised utility bills to make up for overcharging. The Nationalist Party noted how acording to these legal notices, the “adjustment” will only date to January of this year. The party is therefore proposing that compensation should be backdated to January 2014, when the current bimonthly billing system had been introduced. (Times of Malta)
Government concludes talks on licencing of building contractors
Government said talks have been concluded for all contractors in the building industry to be licenced. Minister for Planning Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi explained in a press briefing that nearly one year since the licence for property agents ha been made mandatory, the board handling the issuing of licences for property agents, pointing out that since it was set up, it has received over 3,500 applications, one-third of which have been approved, whilst more than 600 applications were not completed and another 280 were withdrawn. (TVM)
Cottonera residents complain shipyards’ noise
A group of 141 residents from the Cottonera and surrounding area said they are “suffering severely” due to the Palumbo-MSC shipyard’s operations, “which have been even worse than usual in recent weeks.” In a letter to the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA, they said that the applicable permits do not include hours for noisy operation and other stipulations to ensure the densely populated area the shipyard is located in, is not adversely affected. (The Malta Independent)
